A shorter chapter but it seemed like a good spot to stop. Starting with the next chapter his life in the guild will really start.
The Skyrim sun is brighter after spending the last 24 hours in a cave. The bandits who had made that cave their home before Sapphire and I went on our rampage kept a surprising amount of food on hand. You don't expect to be able to have eggs and porridge outside one of Skyrim's cities, but we ate well this morning.
Even better than the warm breakfast is the use of the waterfall as a shower. It seems even at the guild you have to go out of your way to get a bath. So, after eating and washing the road off of ourselves, we set out toward our destination.
I can't help but notice how beautiful Sapphire looks in the morning sun. Her light brown hair, still wet, is tied up out of her eyes, falling in back down just past her shoulders. The light shining off her face really highlights her full lips and her pale blue eyes. It doesn't hurt how well she fills out that guild armor either. Is it possible for leather gauntlets to be sexy? I'm not sure but her toned arms fit excitingly in them. What should have been a long boring morning on the road passed rather pleasantly just making small talk and trying not to get caught while sneaking looks at her.
We spend the morning following the path along the mountains until we get to an old tomb. At which point, instead of continuing to follow the road north we continue to follow the mountains toward Whiterun. I can't help but stop after we've cleared the entrance to the tomb and just look up at the sheer size of the Throat of the World. Everyone who lives in Skyrim knows of this mountain, but all the stories you hear don't begin to do it justice. I can see snow on the higher reaches even from the base, not to mention that the peak is lost inside the clouds. I wonder just how much further the mountain travels into the heavens. After gazing a minute, I look back down to find Sapphire smirking at me.
I smile back and say, "Sorry, just haven't seen anything like it. I know since I'm half dunmer I shouldn't be so impressed, but I've never seen the Red Mountain."
She just shrugs and starts walking toward our destination. My face flushes knowing she probably thinks I'm just some kid out on his first adventure. I can't help but wonder just how much older she is. She sure doesn't look much older than her mid twenties, but it's obvious she has been through a lot more in her years than I have. That makes me think maybe things weren't so bad at the orphanage. If this Nord woman has the same haunted eyes I see in the dunmer kids back at the orphanage maybe this land is just harsh on everyone.
After another hour or so rummaging through my head we finally make it to the camp. Sapphire and I kneel down behind some bushes on a ledge overlooking the camp. Vex's information was accurate. There are three tents scattered around a clearing backed up against a steep incline up the mountain. My years of hunting have prepared me for this aspect of my new profession. Settling down on my stomach, I sneak up until I can see over the whole camp. The camp is full of activity since its still midday. A fire is being used as a stove to cook whatever is in the pot over it, while one guard does the actual cooking, three more sit around the fire talking and laughing. From my vantage point I can see inside two of the tents. They both have a couple bedrolls and a table and chairs. Each tent has two more guards in it. It makes sense to figure the third would have at least that many. I notice the chests in each of the tents as well as one they think is hidden in a nook within the mountain itself. So the ten guards in the camp along with the two standing watch at the opening to the camp by the road makes twelve just as Vex warned.
The rest of the day is spent learning their movements and watching for any changes in the locations of my targets. As the day progresses I can't help but notice the lack of a woman within the camp. Is it possible that she has moved on? Will I still get the bonus if there is no silver circlet for me to steal? The longer the day goes on, the more panic starts to settle within my chest. Thankfully around dusk a few new guards show up with a shipment, one of which is clearly a woman. We sit quietly watching them while they get louder as the mead they've consumed throughout the day takes its toll on their sobriety. Once night completely claims Skyrim, the woman starts issuing orders to the rest of the camp. All but two of the thieves start to switch out their treasure while the woman watches. The two not doing the labor go and relieve the guards at the front of the camp.
"It's nice to see a woman in charge." Sapphire whispers right next to me.
I look over and her and say, "don't we have a female guild master?"
She shrugs again, "not the same. Are you going to tell the dragon-born she's wrong? These men have no reason not to just overpower her right now."
She has to notice the shock on my face, "Is that what you think about men? That we're just walking animals who will overpower and claim anything smaller and weaker than ourselves?"
The look she returns my look of shock with frightens me. Her eyes betray the emptiness of her soul. "I've yet to have reason to believe differently. Most of you would claim anything your cock wanted in a heartbeat if you thought you could get away with it, especially those outside normal laws."
"Isn't the guild outside normal laws?" I ask her.
"Yes, and I wonder just how welcome I would be as a standing member if not for Vex and Brynwolf and Delvin. Don't think for a second I don't have to deal with crude comments and disgusting looks, but without the threat of what would happen to them I'm sure a good number our my guild mates would be happy to see me tied naked to a bed awaiting their pleasure." Even if I didn't believe her, the amount of venom in that last sentence told me all I needed to know about the emptiness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I hope you know I don't feel that way." I lamely tell her, keeping my eyes on the floor.
"Really? Is that why you spent most of the journey here staring at my ass?" She asks, accusing me with her eyes.
I feel my face flush with embarrassment and shame. I want to defend myself, but I know it will be just empty words. I won't try to justify myself when anything I say will be unjustifiable.
"And that's what saves you from just being another disgusting person. You at least have the decency to be ashamed. You also didn't look while I changed into that fir armor yesterday or tried to spy on me while I bathed this morning. Just don't think you are a member of a family when you complete this job. We are all thieves by nature, which means we are untrustworthy by nature. You shouldn't be quick to trust."
I nod and turn back to watching the camp. After another hour, I feel confident the others won't be returning tonight. The guards at the front are busy talking to each other and not really paying attention to what's going on inside the camp. The one negative is that the woman leader went inside the one tent I can't see inside. So I have no way of knowing whether she's sleeping or just sitting there waiting for a rival thief to sneak into her tent. I decide on a course of action that will allow me to prepare for such a scenario, and I nod at Sapphire telling her it's time. She nods back at me, and I slowly regain my feet and quietly make my way down into the camp. The secret to sneaking is your footing. You have to be able to equally distribute your weight on the balls of your feet and be able to avoid stepping on anything that will make noise and give you away all while looking around to for any movement. Slow and deliberate is the way to go, making sure that your armor doesn't creak or rub together to loudly. The next thing to remember is to avoid light, but don't be afraid of it. Without light there are no shadows, and for a thief shadows are better than pure darkness. I use the shadows to my advantage now, skirting around the fire pit and the tents. Staying hidden until I'm completely around to the other side of the camp. I can't explain it, but I have always felt home in the shadows. The idea of being unseen has always meant safety and obscurity to me.
My plan is a pretty simple one. Work my way around the back of the camp so I can do the one chest they tried to hide first. If any of them are locked it will be that one and since lock picking is by far my worst skill I want to make sure I take care of that first before my pockets are lined with whatever I find in the rest of the camp. This also allows me to see inside the tent before committing to entering them.
I peer around the tent opposite of our lookout location and see just what I was hoping to see. The camp leader was sleeping peacefully inside the tent, and even better I can see the reflection off her circlet in the firelight. I take one last look making sure neither of the guards are coming this way. When I see they aren't, I turn around and pull a few lock picks out of my pocket and make my way over to the first chest. Sure enough it's locked, but at least it's not to complicated. I slide my pick in and slowly begin to rotate it listening for that telltale click. The lock moves smoothly and doesn't offer much resistance as I look for the right angle to pick it. That's how you can tell how well a lock is made. The best locks will break a pick at even the tiniest mistake. This one goes easily, and I am able to crack it without breaking a single pick. Usually when you go through a chest you go slowly to enjoy the feeling of finding your new goodies, but since these aren't really mine anyway I just grab them as quickly and efficiently as I can before closing the now empty chest.
The other two tents offered just a few gold pieces in their open chests. I move quickly between them, and then make my way to the final tent. After making sure one last time that she is indeed sleeping, I sneak into the tent. Thankfully her chest is unlocked as well, so I snag the parchments and papers inside along with the gold and jewels. Once the chest is empty, I take out the note that Vex gave me to leave them and drop it into the chest before closing it. Swiping the circlet on the dresser is just as easy as the rest of this mission, and I'm out and gone without anyone knowing I was event there.
Sapphire greets me in our hiding spot, "Not bad at all rookie. I can see what Vex sees in you now. You move very well in the shadows. Now let's get out of here. We can just make our way around the mountain again in the dark until we get back to the hideout. Having a shower two days in a row sounds too good to pass up."
Thankfully there isn't much wildlife where we are traveling, but I would be lying if I didn't constantly have my hand on my bow ready to draw it at the first sounds of life. We made it back to the hideout without incident.
Once inside the camp at the back of the cave, Sapphire finally looks at me and smiles. "Well don't keep me in suspense, how did you do?"
As I start to pull my findings out of the many pockets in my armor, Sapphire makes her way to the keg where they kept their mead. I empty my pockets as she sets a tall mug of mead in front of me and takes a seat opposite.
"I wonder what they are transporting and to where? I find it strange that Vex didn't send more of us to take their whole shipment." Sapphire wonders while I count my gold and drink my mead.
"She had me leave a note in one of the chests. I have a feeling the reason for that is written in that note." I tell her as I continue to tally the gold. "What do you think my cut will be of 150 gold plus three garnets and 2 rubies?"
"Probably more than what all that is worth. That score isn't anywhere close to even the smallest of our marks. I have a feeling you were just given the first in a long line of quests." Sapphire tells me smiling. "That's interesting. Usually any of these unusual jobs are done by our guild master herself. Now you have me really intrigued."
My face flushes again, and at least this time I can blame the alcohol. The rest of the night is spent drinking and laughing and splitting the score we got from the bandits. I can't say how or when I got to my bedroll overlooking the lake, nor can I tell you how Sapphire fared since eventually the night just fades into blackness. What I can tell you is that Sapphire was gone when I woke up, and along with her was every last gold piece we got from our work clearing this hideout. My anger and frustration poured out of me as I screamed my lungs out in the damp recesses of that cave. After kicking and punching and yelling out all my frustrations, I did notice the bag of gold left on the table we drank at last night. Inside the bag was exactly the amount I got from clearing the camp out, plus one silver circlet.
